Abortion

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will implement the Fourth United Nations Conference on Women: Platform for Action which called for action by Governments to "Eliminate all forms of discrimination against the girl child... which result in harmful and unethical practices such as prenatal sex selection...compounded by the increasing use of technologies to determine foetal sex, resulting in abortion of female foetuses".

Baroness Verma: We fully support the UN Fourth World Conference for Women Platform for Action and its reaffirmation that the human rights of women and the girl child are an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of universal human rights. We are fully committed to the realisation of all human rights and fundamental freedoms of all women and girls.
	The UK strongly opposes sex-selective abortion. We recognise that there is no easy solution to addressing this practice. However, our work on girls' education, women's empowerment, skills, work and jobs aims to increase the value of girls and women in society and therefore tackle the pressures and incentives that drive preferences for male children.
	In India, for example, evidence indicates that son preference is weakening, but at the same time access to technologies such as ultrasound are increasing, potentially off-setting this progress. Through our support to the National Reproductive and Child Health programme we are supporting the Government of India to limit inappropriate use of these technologies without reducing access to safe abortion services.

Abortion

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they currently fund, or plan to fund, any organisation promoting abortion as a method of family planning.

Earl Howe: The department does not currently fund or plan to fund any organisation promoting abortion as a method of family planning. We define family planning as services that supply contraceptive products and devices to prevent pregnancy. Abortion is not a method of contraception or family planning.

Abortion

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what targets, if any, they have set in the next twelve months for reducing the abortion rate in England and Wales; and what strategies they have (a) put in place, and (b) plan to put in place, during the next year to reduce the abortion rate in England and Wales.

Earl Howe: Reducing the number of abortions is very important; this is why we have identified improving sexual health and reducing rates of unintended pregnancies as a priority area within our plans to improve public health. Healthy Lives, Healthy People: Our Strategy for Public Health in England stated the department's intention to publish a new sexual health policy document. This will be published in the autumn and will take a life-course approach to sexual health, which also addresses the needs of specific groups. This will support reducing inequalities including for those most at risk, including high rates of teenage pregnancy and unintended pregnancy in all ages.
	Latest abortion statistics, released on 24 May show that in 2010, the age-standardised abortion rate for women resident in England and Wales was 17.5 per 1,000 resident women aged 15-44, the same as in 2009 and down from 18.2 in 2008. The abortion rate per 1,000 women resident in England aged under 18 was 16.6 compared to 17.7 in 2009. This represents a 6.2 per cent decrease in the rate.

Banking

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether their Project Merlin agreement is with HSBC Bank Plc or HSBC Holdings Plc.

Lord Sassoon: The Project Merlin Banks' statement represents a collective commitment on the part of the major UK banks (Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland, and, in the context of lending, Santander).

Banking

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Merlin lending agreements contain stretch targets for bank lending which have not been published.

Lord Sassoon: The Merlin commitment agreed with the banks that they would make available the appropriate capital and resources to support gross new lending of £190 billion to UK businesses. This includes new committed lending capacity of £76 billion to small and medium-sized enterprises.

Banking

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will review (a) the effectiveness of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, and (b) the legal and regulatory authorities under which it operates.

Lord Sassoon: The UK Government are not a member of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. The UK is represented on the Basel Committee by the Bank of England and Financial Services Authority. The UK Government fully support the work of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.

Belfast Agreement

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the inclusion of a section on human rights in the Republic of Ireland in the Belfast agreement of 1998 on the condition of British citizens in the Republic of Ireland.

Lord Shutt of Greetland: The Belfast agreement refers to the Irish Government taking steps to strengthen further the protection of human rights in its jurisdiction. These steps, which have included the formation of an Irish Human Rights Commission, benefit all those living in the Republic of Ireland, including British citizens.

Businesses: Pre-pack Administration

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will review the treatment of small and medium-sized enterprises and other trade creditors under pre-pack administrations.

Baroness Wilcox: In March 2011 the Government announced proposals to tighten controls on pre-packs where the administrator intends to sell a significant proportion of the assets of a company or its business to a connected party, in circumstances where there has been no open marketing of the assets. The Government believe that the impact of the proposals on small and medium-sized enterprises will be beneficial. Discussions on the detail of draft legislation are currently taking place with stakeholders .

Businesses: Regulations

Lord Harrison: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of new regulations affecting businesses on the establishment and running of small dental practices.

Earl Howe: All providers of primary dental care were required to register with the Care Quality Commission from 1 April 2011. An impact assessment of regulation of primary medical and dental care providers under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 was published in October 2009 along with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations. This impact assessment set out the range of options considered as part of the policy development process and considered their costs and benefits. A copy of the impact assessment has been placed in the Library: www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh-digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_115544.pdf.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty's Government, in the light of evidence linking school absences for long-term illness with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis, what guidance they currently issue to schools and parents about the illness and a child's right to education outside the classroom; and what plans, if any, they have to extend this guidance.

Earl Howe: The Requirements for Social Work Training published in 2002 set out the outcome statements for what a student social worker must know, understand and be able to do to be awarded the degree in social work. This can be found at: www. dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4007803. A copy has already been placed in the Library.
	It is the responsibility of individual employers to ensure that their staff are appropriately trained for the work that they do.

Credit Default Swaps

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will review the capital relief available in determining core tier one capital requirements for United Kingdom banks as a consequence of insurance acquired through the purchase of credit default swaps.

Lord Sassoon: Minimum capital requirements in the European Union are set by the Capital Requirements Directive (CRD) and at the international level by the Basel Committee on Banking Standards (BCBS).
	In September 2010, the BCBS proposed new rules, known as Basel 3, which the Government support. These included the treatment of counterparty credit risk and would affect the capital relief provided by hedging risk, including through the purchase of credit default swaps.
	The Government expect proposals from the European Commission on further amendments to the CRD, known as CRD 4, later this year. It is expected that these proposals will reflect the Basel 3 rules on counterparty credit risk.

Data Protection

Lord Harris of Haringey: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have undertaken any analysis of the threat to the public posed by visual data security breaches; and whether they plan to review the Security Policy Framework guidelines to recognise the potential threat posed by visual data security breaches.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: Security policy officials and the national technical authorities keep all security threats under constant review and the Security Policy Framework guidelines are regularly updated. These guidelines include measures to reduce the risk that sensitive information could be overlooked, including from computer screens, laptops or other mobile devices.

Drugs

Lord Moynihan: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish a response to the 2011 Global Commission on Drug Policy; and what is their assessment of the authors' view that the global war on drugs has failed.

Baroness Browning: The report published by the 2011 Global Commission on Drug Policy was not commissioned by the Government and we will not be making a formal response to it.
	Drugs destroy lives and cause untold misery to families and communities. The Government have a duty to protect the public, not least vulnerable people. We are determined to participate fully in responding to global drug issues by meeting our obligations under the international conventions on reducing drug misuse and trafficking. Our priorities are clear: we want to reduce drug use, crack down on drug related crime and disorder and help dependent users come off drugs for good and contribute to society.

Education: Overseas Funding

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the figure of 700,000 girls that the Department for International Development plans to support through education to 2014, as set out in Changing Lives, Delivering Results, represents the total number of girls that the department plans to support in education to 2014; and whether this figure includes the girls the department plans to support through the planned Girls Education Challenge initiative.

Baroness Verma: The figure of 700,000 girls is an estimate of the number of girls to be supported in their education at secondary level. Of the 9 million children to be supported at the primary level, half will be girls. The Girls Education Challenge initiative, currently under development, is a separate and additional initiative. The numbers of girls to be supported through this initiative will be announced later in the year.

EU: Financial Assistance to Member States

Lord Myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their source for the statement by Lord Sassoon on 20 June (Official Report, col. 1103) that the total exposure of the United Kingdom banking system to Greece is $19.2 billion; whether derivative, insurance and portfolio investment exposures are included in this figure; and, if not, what is the total United Kingdom financial sector exposure including those segments.

Lord Sassoon: Data on external claims of UK-owned monetary financial institutions, and on their branches and subsidiaries abroad, are available on the Bank of England website at: http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/statistics/Bankstats/2011/Jun/TabC4.2.xls.
	This sets out foreign claims on an ultimate risk basis of $14.65 billion, which, taken together with derivatives ($2.28 billion), guarantees ($0.90 billion), and other credit commitments ($1.41 billion), make up $19.24 billion in total. These data are as at the end of Q1 2011.

Exports

Lord Hunt of Chesterton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how the Foreign and Commonwealth Office intends to develop exports with competitive technological and commercial capabilities.

Lord Howell of Guildford: I refer the noble Lord to the answer given by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Baroness Wilcox) on 22 June 2011 (Official Report, col. WA 304).

Finance: Mutuals

Lord Redesdale: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to encourage growth of user-led financial mutuals in the public sector.

Lord Sassoon: The Government are committed to supporting the creation and expansion of mutuals, co-operatives, charities and social enterprises and to enabling these groups to have much greater involvement in the running of public services. We will also give public sector workers a new right to form employee-owned co-operatives and to bid to take over the services they deliver. A number of pathfinder mutuals have already been launched.
	The Big Society Bank is being set up to enable organisations that invest in civil society to provide a greater range of financial services to social enterprises, charities and voluntary and community sector organisations. The Government are also considering options for mutualisation of Post Office Ltd and will be launching a public consultation later in the year.

Financial Services: Salaries

Lord Marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to regulate pay in the financial services sector.

Lord Sassoon: As set out in the coalition agreement, the Government are committed to tackling unacceptable bank bonuses. Significant steps have already been taken through a combination of measures that target remuneration and bonuses directly and through wider measures, which have the potential to reduce excessive risk taking, improve governance, impose tougher capital requirements and increase competition over time.
	In addition to the Project Merlin agreement between the Government and the four largest banks, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) has revised the Remuneration Code of Practice, which sets out detailed rules for pay for firms in the financial services sector.
	The FSA has also implemented a new remuneration disclosure regime. The Government have committed to consult on world-leading pay disclosure arrangements, which, when taken together with the FSA's sector-wide regime, will make the UK's disclosure arrangements the toughest of any major financial centre.
	Alongside this, the Government have created the Independent Commission on Banking to investigate the issue of banks being too big to fail and have introduced a permanent levy on banks' borrowings that incentivises less risky operations and will raise £2.5 billion a year for the taxpayer.

Government Departments: Scientific Advisers

Lord Willis of Knaresborough: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Browning on 21 June (WA 281), how many scheduled meetings have been held between the departmental Chief Scientific Adviser for the Home Office and the Secretary of State at the Home Office between 31 May 2010 and 1 June 2011.

Baroness Browning: My right honourable friend the Home Secretary has had three scheduled meetings with Professor Bernard Silverman between 31 May 2010 and June 2011.

Greece: Political Intervention

Viscount Waverley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the likelihood of a political intervention by the military in Greece; and what internal European Union procedures exist for handling such an event.

Lord Howell of Guildford: Greece is a long-standing member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the European Union, with appropriate constitutional and other provisions for civilian control over the Armed Forces.
	Where a member state is in serious and persistent breach of the EU's fundamental values (for example, democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights) the council has the power to suspend certain rights, including the voting rights, of the member state concerned.

Health and Social Care Bill

Baroness Wheeler: To ask Her Majesty's Government which functions of (a) strategic health authorities, (b) primary care trusts, and (c) other national bodies, will be affected by the Health and Social Care Bill; and which of those functions will be (1) transferred to other organisations, and (2) no longer be undertaken, once the Health and Social Care Bill is enacted.

Earl Howe: The Health and Social Care Bill sets out in considerable detail how we intend to reform, transfer or abolish a significant number of these functions, either because they would be carried out by a different body in the new system, or because they are now unnecessary.
	Strategic health authorities (SHAs), primary care trusts (PCTs), special health authorities and health related arm's-length bodies collectively have a wide range of legal duties. Many of these are statutory functions of the Secretary of State that have been delegated through regulations and directions under the National Health Service Act 2006.
	In the current system, PCTs are responsible for the commissioning of most NHS services, while SHAs act as regional headquarters of the NHS, providing management and direction to PCTs and NHS trusts. Special health authorities and arm's-length bodies have a range of specialist responsibilities and functions.
	Under the system proposed by the Health and Social Care Bill, SHAs and PCTs would be abolished. They would be replaced by more autonomous NHS institutions, with transparent duties and responsibilities. We intend that, in future, clinical commissioning groups should be responsible for commissioning the majority of NHS services, supported by a national NHS Commissioning Board. PCTs' current responsibilities for public health improvement would transfer to local authorities.
	A number of arm's-length bodies would also be abolished. Their functions would transfer either to new or existing organisations, would return to the Secretary of State, or would cease.

Health: Blood Donors

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase the number of people aged under 30 who become blood donors.

Earl Howe: NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), as the special health authority responsible for the provision of blood to hospitals in England and north Wales, places great emphasis on raising awareness amongst young people of the importance of blood, organ and stem cell donation.
	NHSBT works with schools, colleges and universities across England and north Wales to promote donation by: providing "Give and Let Live" educational resources designed for 14 to 16 year-olds; running blood donation sessions for students aged 17 and over; and working with the charity Anthony Nolan on the "Register and Be A Lifesaver" project, to train volunteers to give talks about donation to 16 to 18 year-olds.
	To further engage with young people, NHSBT has recently launched a presence on social networking sites. In addition, an extensive awareness campaign by NHSBT during the first National Blood Week has resulted in around 7,000 people below the age of 30 years registering as new donors.

Health: Reciprocal Agreements

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much in pounds sterling was paid to and received from each European Union country in the past three years for medical and healthcare costs under European social security regulations for European Union citizens resident in the United Kingdom and British residents in those countries; and on what numbers of such residents the figures are based.

Earl Howe: The following tables one to three show the amounts, in pounds sterling, that the United Kingdom paid to and received from member states of the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland in the financial years 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10, for citizens registered as resident in another member state. Payments made in any one year will typically relate to claims for a number of previous years.
	Figures for Ireland are provided separately in table four and represent total amounts paid in 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10.
	Table five shows the number of UK citizens registered as resident in each member state, and vice versa, for the calendar year 2010.
	
		
			 Table One 
			 EEA Medical Costs 
			 Payments to and by Member States in 2007-08 1 
			 Payments for Article 94 and 95 Claims 2 
			  Payments To Member States£ Equivalent 3 Payments By Member States £ 
			 Austria £2,463,000 £0 
			 Belgium £2,580,000 £501,000 
			 Bulgaria 4 £0 £0 
			 Cyprus £3,183,000 £0 
			 Czech Republic £34,000 £0 
			 Denmark (Waiver) 5 £0 £0 
			 Estonia (Waiver) 6 £0 £0 
			 Finland (Waiver) 7 £0 £0 
			 France £146,479,000 £0 
			 Germany £0 £1,107,000 
			 Greece £1,176,000 £32,000 
			 Hungary (Waiver) 7 £0 £0 
			 Iceland £0 £0 
			 Italy 7 £17,737,000 £1,709,000 
			 Latvia £0 £0 
			 Liechtenstein £0 £0 
			 Lithuania £0 £0 
			 Luxembourg £0 £0 
			 Malta (Waiver) 7 £0 £0 
			 Netherlands £0 £0 
			 Norway (Waiver) 6 £0 £0 
			 Poland £0 £0 
			 Portugal £6,342,000 £0 
			 Romania 4 £0 £0 
			 Slovakia £2,000 £0 
			 Slovenia £10,000 £0 
			 Spain £195,727,000 £38,000 
			 Sweden £374,000 £13,000 
			 Switzerland £1,183,000 £9,000 
			 Total £377,300,000 £3,400,000 
		
	
	Notes:
	1 Country totals are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Overall totals are rounded to the nearest £100,000. Sub-totals may not add up to totals due to rounding.
	2 Pensioners, dependents of pensioners, and dependents of workers not resident in same member state as the worker.
	3 £ equivalent totals based on exchange rates at the time of the payment.
	4 Bulgaria and Romania-Joined the EU on 1 January 2007. Both countries have yet to produce average costs therefore there are no claims to date from either country.
	5 Denmark-Full waiver
	6 Estonia and Norway-Waiver, excepting Article 22.1c (patient referral) & Article 55.1c (industrial injury) claims.
	7 Finland, Hungary and Malta-Waiver, excepting Article 22.1c (patient referral) & Article 55.1c (industrial injury) claims.
	8 Italy-Totals shown exclude exchange rate currency gain arising from the payment offset provisions of the former Italy-UK bilateral agreement (which terminated on 31 December 2009).
	
		
			 Table Two 
			 EEA Medical Costs 
			 Payments to and by Member States in 2008-09 1 
			 Payments for Article 94 and 95 Claims 2 
			  Payments To Member States£ Equivalent 3 Payments By Member States £ 
			 Austria £1,211,000 £0 
			 Belgium £2,838,000 £52,000 
			 Bulgaria 4 £0 £0 
			 Cyprus £12,448,000 £0 
			 Czech Republic £12,000 £0 
			 Denmark (Waiver) 5 £0 £0 
			 Estonia (Waiver) 6 £0 £0 
			 Finland (Waiver) 7 £0 £0 
			 France £124,314,000 £989,000 
			 Germany £14,192,000 £48,000 
			 Greece £5,591,000 £6,000 
			 Hungary (Waiver) 7 £0 £0 
			 Iceland £0 £0 
			 Italy' £0 £0 
			 Latvia £19,000 £0 
			 Liechtenstein £0 £0 
			 Lithuania £2,000 £0 
			 Luxembourg £0 £0 
			 Malta (Waiver) 7 £0 £0 
			 Netherlands £0 £0 
			 Norway (Waiver) 6 £0 £0 
			 Poland £0 £0 
			 Portugal £202,000 £14,000 
			 Romania 4 £0 £0 
			 Slovakia £5,000 £0 
			 Slovenia £44,000 £0 
			 Spain £100,992,000 £42,000 
			 Sweden £407,000 £262,000 
			 Switzerland £767,000 £0 
			 Total £263,000,000 £1,400,000 
		
	
	Notes:
	1 Country totals are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Overall totals are rounded to the nearest £100,000. Sub-totals may not add up to totals due to rounding.
	2 Pensioners, dependents of pensioners, and dependents of workers not resident in same member state as the worker.
	3 £ equivalent totals based on exchange rates at the time of the payment.
	4 Bulgaria and Romania-Joined the EU on 1 January 2007. Both countries have yet to produce average costs therefore there are no claims to date from either country.
	5 Denmark-Full waiver
	6 Estonia and Norway-Waiver, excepting Article 22.1c (patient referral) & Article 55.1c (industrial injury) claims.
	7 Finland, Hungary and Malta-Waiver, excepting Article 22.1c (patient referral) & Article 55.1c (industrial injury) claims.
	
		
			 Table Three 
			 EEA medical costs 
			 Payments to and by Member States in 2009-10 1 
			 Payments for Article 94 and 95 Claims 2 
			  Payments To Member States£ Equivalent 3 Payments By Member States 
			 Austria £0 £0 
			 Belgium £3,586,000 £639,000 
			 Bulgaria 4 £0 £0 
			 Cyprus £97,000 £0 
			 Czech Republic £60,000 £0 
			 Denmark (Waiver) 5 £0 £0 
			 Estonia (Waiver) 6 £0 £0 
			 Finland (Waiver) 7 £0 £0 
			 France £164,510,000 £367,000 
			 Germany £5,197,000 £477,000 
			 Greece £24,000 £0 
			 Hungary (Waiver) 7 £0 £0 
			 Iceland £0 £0 
			 Italy 7 £2,372,000 £0 
			 Latvia £13,000 £0 
			 Liechtenstein £0 £0 
			 Lithuania £7,000 £0 
			 Luxembourg £0 £0 
			 Malta (Waiver) 7 £0 £0 
			 Netherlands £7,311,000 £3,431,000 
			 Norway (Waiver) 6 £0 £0 
			 Poland £0 £0 
			 Portugal £1,832,000 £0 
			 Romania 4 £0 £0 
			 Slovakia £0 £0 
			 Slovenia £42,000 £0 
			 Spain £198,959,000 £72,000 
			 Sweden £7,000 £783,000 
			 Switzerland £5,000 £38,000 
			 Total £384,000,000 £5,800,000 
		
	
	Notes:
	1 Country totals are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Overall totals are rounded to the nearest £100,000. Sub-totals may not add up to totals due to rounding.
	2 Pensioners, dependents of pensioners, and dependents of workers not resident in same member state as the worker.
	3 £ equivalent totals based on exchange rates at the time of the payment.
	4 Bulgaria and Romania-Joined the EU on 1 January 2007. Both countries have yet to produce average costs therefore there are no claims to date from either country.
	5 Denmark-Full waiver
	6 Estonia and Norway-Waiver, excepting Article 22.1c (patient referral) & Article 55.1c (industrial injury) claims.
	7 Finland, Hungary and Malta-Waiver, excepting Article 22.1c (patient referral) & Article 55.1c (industrial injury) claims.
	
		
			 Table Four 
			 EEA Medical Costs 
			 Payments to and by Ireland 2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10 
			 Total Payments 1 
			  Total Payments to Ireland 2 Total Payments by Ireland 
			 2007-08 £19,004,000 £335,833,000 
			 2008-09 £19,560,000 £86,490,000 
			 2009-10 £22,723,000 £315,868,000 
		
	
	Notes:
	1 Totals are rounded to the nearest £1,000.
	2 The total for payments to Ireland includes amounts offset for the value of certain UK claims as provided for by the bilateral agreement with Ireland.
	
		
			 Table Five 
			 Number of registered residents by EEA member state and Switzerland 1 
			  Number of UK issued E109s or S1s registered in another member state in 2010 2 Number of UK issued E121s or S1s registered in another member state in 2010 3 Number of E109s or S1s issued by other member states and registered in the UK in 2010 2 Number of E121s or S1s issued by other member states and registered in the UK in 2010 3 
			 Austria 11 587 0 55 
			 Belgium 14 609 0 135 
			 Bulgaria 0 322 0 4 
			 Cyprus 3 11,548 0 0 
			 Czech Republic 24 88 0 3 
			 Denmark 0 25 0 34 
			 Estonia 0 17 0 2 
			 Finland 0 33 0 0 
			 France 440 45,019 0 104 
			 Germany 70 3,001 6 426 
			 Greece 6 3,046 0 4 
			 Hungary 5 421 0 0 
			 Iceland 0 13 0 1 
			 Italy 2 3,134 0 6 
			 Latvia 0 41 0 0 
			 Liechtenstein 0 0 0 0 
			 Lithuania 0 20 0 2 
			 Luxembourg 0 53 0 5 
			 Malta 0 2,409 0 4 
			 Netherlands 3 295 0 776 
			 Norway 0 54 0 98 
			 Poland 1,680 482 0 41 
			 Portugal 1 2,567 0 5 
			 Romania 0 11 0 0 
			 Slovakia 2 18 0 1 
			 Slovenia 0 55 0 0 
			 Spain 67 78,021 0 18 
			 Sweden 0 149 0 94 
			 Switzerland 1 348 0 17 
			 Total 2,329 152,386 6 1,835 
		
	
	Notes:
	1 Data correct as at 25 January 2011
	2 Form E109 is issued to the dependents of workers living in a different member state to the worker
	3 Form E121 is issued to state pensioners and their dependents who live in a different member state to that which pays their pension
	4 Under the bilateral agreement between the UK and Ireland, estimated numbers of residents are currently subject to a triennial survey, with no forms exchanged between the two countries, and therefore figures relating to Ireland are omitted from this table.

Health: Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies

The Countess of Mar: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Earl Howe on 13 June (Official Report, col. 544), whether they will provide a breakdown by department of the £20 million spent on research into transmissible spongiform encephalopathies.

Earl Howe: A breakdown of spend in 2010-11 on research in transmissible spongiform encephalopathies is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council 3.6 
			 Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 5.8 
			 Department of Health 9.6 
			 Food Standards Agency 0.9 
			 Medical Research Council 5.0 
			 Total 24.9

Housing

Baroness King of Bow: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Local Housing Allowance recipients in (a) the City of Westminster and (b) the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea will lose all or part of their allowance as a result of the caps introduced in April 2011.

Lord Freud: Based on analysis of the local housing allowance caseload in March 2010, it is estimated that:
	(a) 4,010 claimants in the City of Westminster, and(b) 1,650 claimants in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
	will have their housing benefit reduced due to the local housing allowance caps and the removal of the 5-bedroom rate introduced in April 2011.
	Customers who were receiving housing benefit according to local housing allowance rules before 1 April 2011 will receive up to nine months transitional protection from the date their claim is reviewed by the local authority, allowing them more time to adjust to the reduction in entitlement.
	Source: Impacts of Housing Benefit Proposals: changes to the local housing allowance to be introduced in 2011-12, available on the DWP website at http://www.dwp.qov.uk/docs/impacts-of-hb-proposals.pdf.

Immigration: Heathrow Airport

Baroness Valentine: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Jones on 11 November 2010 (WA 126), whether they will publish the data on immigration queues at each Heathrow airport terminal from 1 January 2010 to 31 May 2011 by month, queues measured, average queue time, maximum queue time, and number of queues over service level agreement target for European Economic Area and non-European Economic Area passengers.

Baroness Browning: We will be publishing passenger clearance data for Heathrow Airport although not covering the dates specified in the question.
	As part of the UK Border Agency commitments under the Government's transparency framework we will be publishing national performance data against the published passenger clearance standards in our annual report and accounts and the first quarter's performance (April-June 2011) is due to be published in July 2011. The current clearance standards are:
	95 per cent of passengers to wait no longer than the published standard of 25 minutes for EEA and 45 minutes for non EEA passengers.
	The national data that underpins this indicator; the number of passengers sampled and, of those, the number cleared within service standards will be made available on the UK Border Agency web site in August 2011.

Independent Commission on Banking

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much the Independent Commission on Banking has cost; and by whom it is funded.

Lord Sassoon: The Independent Commission on Banking is chaired by Sir John Vickers. Sir John is paid £60,000 per annum over the duration of the commission's deliberations to work an average of two days per week. Other commission members are not paid and work an average of one day per week on commission business.
	The commissioners are supported by a full-time secretariat of 14 officials drawn from HM Treasury, the Department for Business Innovation and Skills, the Financial Services Authority, the Bank of England and the Office of Fair Trading. The pay costs of staff seconded to the secretariat are being met by their parent organisations.
	The commission has been provided by HM Treasury and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills with such other resources as are necessary to perform its task. All costs are being met by reprioritisation from within existing budgets and there has been no consequent increase in public spending.

International Planned Parenthood Federation

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was their annual contribution to the funding of the International Planned Parenthood Federation in each of the last five years; how they monitor the use to which those funds are put; and what steps they have taken to ensure that activities that are funded by them through the International Planned Parenthood Federation do not, directly or indirectly, support coercive population policies or gender-based abortion.

Baroness Verma: For details of the Department for International Development's (DfID's) funding to the International Planned Parenthood Federation and monitoring mechanism in place, I refer the noble Lord to my answer of 21 March 2011, (Official Report, col. WA 117). This information and DfID's policy paper on safe and unsafe abortion is available in the Library of the House. DfID does not directly, or indirectly, support coercive population policies or sex selective abortion.

Justice: Legal Fees

Lord Avebury: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the cost in compensation and legal fees of unlawful detention actions in 2010-11.

Lord McNally: In 2010-11 the Ministry of Justice paid out a total of £283,509 in compensation to prisoners as a result of unlawful detention civil litigation claims against the Prison Service. A claimant's legal fees may take several months to finalise and some are not paid in the same financial year as the compensation. The Ministry of Justice's legal fees are swept up in monthly bills covering all types of litigation and the total cost of each case could only be identified at disproportionate cost.

Lebanon

Baroness Tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the formation of the new Government in Lebanon.

Lord Howell of Guildford: A new Lebanese cabinet has been proposed by Prime Minister designate Najib Mikati and approved by the President of the Republic. Prime Minister designate Mikati's Government will now submit a government programme to be approved by Parliament. We urge the new Government to abide by their international obligations.
	It is important that the new Government are committed to restraint and the principle of non-violence as well as a sovereign and independent future for Lebanon.

Local Authorities: Expenditure

Lord Lucas: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have reviewed their analysis that "Shining a light on council spending could save up to £450 per household" featured at www.communities.gov.uk/news/local government/1925289; and, if so, what conclusions they have drawn.

Baroness Hanham: The estimate of savings up to £450 per household was drawn from a document independently published by a private sector consultancy. The report suggested councils could secure better value-up to 20 per cent savings-for the £50 billion of public money they spend on procurement every year. The £450 per household every year figure is equal to a £10 billion sum calculated from a 20 per cent saving of £50 billion.
	The department is already aware, from work done by the Local Government Group, of examples of improved procurement practices which claim to have delivered savings, typically up to 20 per cent. Some of these equate to considerable financial savings for local authorities. The department supports the work of the Local Government Group and individual local authorities in highlighting the gains to be made from successful innovative procurement practice.

Local Government: Consent Regimes

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Hanham on 14 June (WA 179), whether they will publish the departmental consent regimes applying to local authority decision-making, and having regard to the Review of Statutory Duties, by department.

Baroness Hanham: I refer to my previous Written Answer on 14 June (Official Report, col. WA 179) that the last departmental audit of consent regimes was published in May 2007. In relation to the Review of Statutory Duties, I also refer the noble Lord to the Written Ministerial Statement of 30 June (Official Report, col. WS 163).
	There is no complete, by department, list of consent regimes which apply to local authority decision making.

Magna Carta

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they will celebrate the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta.

Lord McNally: My right honourable friend the Lord Chancellor, the Master of the Rolls and I launched the five-year programme of celebrations for the 800th anniversary at an internationally televised event at Runnymede on 12 November 2010. I am working closely with Sir Robert Worcester at the Magna Carta Trust in collaboration with the National Trust, English Heritage and other organisations including the History of Parliament Trust, and the newly formed All Party Parliamentary group on Magna Carta, to plan and organise a series of high profile events leading up to the anniversary on 15 June 2015. Plans for 2015 include major exhibitions at the British Library and the National Archive (and at the Library of Congress in Washington); exhibitions in many British public libraries; radio and television dramas and documentaries; academic symposia, a number of new books relating to Magna Carta; commemorative coins and stamps; Magna Carta concerts including at the Albert Hall; the creation of a new memorial at Runnymede; special commemorative national events on the anniversary itself; and a wide variety of local events in the Magna Carta towns and elsewhere in the UK.

NHS Commissioning Board

Baroness Wheeler: To ask Her Majesty's Government what will be the functions and budget of the NHS Commissioning Board and its outposts.

Earl Howe: The broad functions of the NHS Commissioning Board are outlined in the Health and Social Care Bill. Sir David Nicholson will shortly publish a document setting out further details about the design and operating model.

NHS: Commissioning

Baroness Ford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of savings arising from a reduction in acute admissions and specialist referrals for epilepsy patients by increasing the use of specialist epilepsy nurses.
	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the recent National Health Service review has taken account of the needs of long-term complex conditions, such as epilepsy, in designing commissioning groups.

Earl Howe: The recent listening events, organised as part of the National Health Service review, have involved representations from individuals and stakeholders representing those living with long-term complex conditions. In particular, concerns were raised over the commissioning of services for those with complex needs.
	The NHS Future Forum has addressed these concerns by recommending that:
	general practitioners must be required to obtain all relevant multi-professional advice to inform commissioning decisions;the declaration of "no decision about me, without me" must be hard-wired into every part of the system; andthere must be transparency about how public money is spent.

NHS: Hospital Beds

Baroness Meacher: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the average bed occupancy of (a) adult mental health inpatient units, and (b) adult acute wards, in district general hospitals in England in 2010.

Earl Howe: The most recent information collected by the department shows that the average percentage rate of bed occupancy of adult mental health inpatient units for the period 2009-10 was 85.6 per cent and that for adult acute wards it was 85.5 per cent.

NHS: Productivity

Lord Mawhinney: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 24 March (WA 203), why output activities are weighted by their average costs in the National Health Service productivity calculations; and how such calculations of output are made.

Earl Howe: National Health Service productivity growth is measured as the ratio of growth in the volume of outputs to growth in the volume of inputs. NHS output includes the sum of all patient treatments carried out each year. Cost weighting patient treatments enables a single output value to be constructed from all healthcare activities carried out each year. Healthcare activities are varied, weighting makes different activities comparable in terms of their value so for example a procedure that costs five times more than another receives five times more weight in the measure.
	The cost weight for each type of activity is the relative cost of that activity compared to all others. The Office for National Statistics calculates average costs for each Healthcare Resource Group from cost information recorded in the annual reference costs collection by the department.
	Multiplying the quantity of each activity type by its cost weight and summing these values generates the cost-weighted output value. The measurement of growth requires comparable data over time periods. To ensure the volume of outputs is comparable over time, the same cost weights are applied to data for year 1 and year 2 such that the effects of price increases are stripped out.

NHS: Productivity

Lord Mawhinney: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 24 March (WA 203), in calculating NHS productivity, why adjustments are made in calculating input volume for (a) waiting times, (b) survival rates, (c) outcomes from interventions in primary care, and (d) patient experience; and, in each case, (1) how those adjustments are calculated, and (2) how, precisely, they affect calculated inputs.

Earl Howe: Quality adjustments are made to the quantity of output produced by the National Health Service, not the quantity of input used.
	NHS productivity growth is measured as the ratio of the growth in the volume of outputs to the growth in the volume of inputs. Where the quality of the output changes (for example improved health outcomes following medical interventions), an adjustment is made to reflect that this is desirable, even if the count of the activity (for example number of hip operations) is unchanged. This approach was adopted following a review undertaken by Sir Tony Atkinson at the request of the National Statistician, which set out a principled framework for measuring government output in the National Accounts within international guidelines.
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) adjust output for two dimensions of quality: the extent to which the service succeeds in delivering its intended outcomes; and the extent to which the service is responsive to users' needs. The first of these includes adjustments for survival rates, health gain following treatment in hospital, changes in waiting times and outcomes from intervention in primary care. The second dimension encapsulates changes to patient experience.
	Adjustments to output are made for the fact that there are negative welfare effects of having to wait for hospital treatment. The adjustment is calculated by observing changes in the 80th percentile of waiting time distribution for each category of inpatient activity and assigning a benefit (disbenefit) to a reduction (increase) in the time waited.
	An adjustment is then made for any differences in health outcomes. Since changes in health outcomes are not observed directly for every procedure, an indirect method is used. This combines changes in short term (30 day) survival rates following treatment, and a post treatment health gain following survival, based on inferred data from 30 different treatments, all allowing for changes in healthy life expectancy.
	The effects of changes in waiting times and health outcomes are then applied multiplicatively to the change in the quantity of activity undertaken.
	Separate adjustments are then made for changes in patient experience, which are estimated by observing changes in patient satisfaction expressed by patients in national patient surveys for inpatients and outpatients. A 1 per cent improvement in patient experience would increase the output index by 1 per cent, weighted by the relative costs of the survey settings. The overall effect of this adjustment has been negligible over the past eight years given the very small movements in patient survey responses.
	The final adjustment looks at the change in outcomes from primary medical care interventions and measures the quality of general practices by observing the change in the proportion of patients who have achieved a desired clinical target after being diagnosed with hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke or chronic kidney disease. Consultations which give rise to improved condition management are assumed to have 30 per cent more value than those which do not.
	Between 2001 and 2009, quality adjustments added an average of 0.9 percentage points a year to output growth. The effect of the quality adjustments on total output is shown in the following table.
	
		
			 Table B1: Contribution of the quality adjustment to output growth 
			 Year Quantity Growth Quality Adjustment Output Growth 
			 2001 6.1% -0.2% 5.9% 
			 2002 4.0% 1.0% 5.1% 
			 2003 4.6% 0.9% 5.5% 
			 2004 3.6% 1.0 % 4.7% 
			 2005 3.7 % 1.0 % 4.7% 
			 2006 3.1% 0.5% 3.6% 
			 2007 2.9 % 0.3% 3.3% 
			 2008 5.5% 0.8% 6.4% 
			 2009 5.0% 2.0% 7.1% 
			 Average (2001-09) 4.3% 0.8% 5.1% 
		
	
	Source: Calculated from figures published in Public Service Output, Inputs and Productivity: Healthcare. ONS, March 2011.

NHS: Restructuring

Lord Beecham: To ask Her Majesty's Government what advice they have sought or received on the legality of implementing changes to the organisational structure of the National Health Service.

Earl Howe: Where amendments to primary legislation are needed to give effect to the Government's proposed changes to the National Health Service, they are set out in the Health and Social Care Bill currently going through Parliament. Any organisational changes being implemented in the meantime, such as grouping primary care trusts into clusters for management purposes, and establishing pathfinder clinical commissioning groups, are being made under existing powers in the National Health Service Act 2006. The department has acted with the benefit of legal advice, but in accordance with usual practice it does not disclose the nature or content of that advice.

Northern Ireland: Bill of Rights

Lord Empey: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to legislate for a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland in the absence of political consensus on such a Bill in Northern Ireland.

Lord Shutt of Greetland: The Government remain of the view that it is difficult to make progress on a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland in the absence of political consensus. However, the Government want to see this issue resolved and will be taking the views of the new Executive, political parties and others in Northern Ireland on how best to move matters forward.

Olympic and Paralympic Games 2012

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Garden of Frognal on 20 June (WA 255-6) regarding the 3,300 Olympic tickets to be allocated to business leaders and dignitaries, what is their definition of dignitaries.

Baroness Garden of Frognal: The Government will use their ticket allocation to support Games time objectives which will include the hosting of relevant non-accredited international and domestic political and business leaders, as well as guests and others with a close connection to the Games and its legacy.

Olympic and Paralympic Games 2012

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Garden of Frognal on 20 June (WA 255-6) regarding the 3,300 Olympic tickets to be allocated to business leaders and dignitaries, whether they will publish a full list of the business leaders and dignitaries to be allocated tickets; and for which events.

Baroness Garden of Frognal: After the Games, the Government intend to publish a list of those dignitaries to whom it allocated tickets, the cost to Government of those tickets, and the number of staff who purchased tickets.

Olympic and Paralympic Games 2012

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Garden of Frognal on 20 June (WA 255-6) regarding the 3,300 Olympic tickets to be allocated to business leaders and dignitaries, which departments will be involved in the allocation; and what will be the role of Ministers from these departments in this process.

Baroness Garden of Frognal: Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and UK Trade and Investment Ministers will agree the principles of Government's ticket allocation, but time will not allow them to decide personally the allocation of each ticket.

Olympic and Paralympic Games 2012

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Garden of Frognal on 20 June (WA 255-6), for which events, and how many for each event, have Olympic tickets been allocated to the Government.

Baroness Garden of Frognal: The information requested can be found in the following table:
	
		
			 Sport/Event Number of Tickets 
			 Ceremonies  
			 Opening 212 
			 Closing 137 
			 Events  
			 Archery 159 
			 Athletics 256 
			 Athletics-Marathon 64 
			 Athletics-Race Walk 36 
			 Badminton 172 
			 Basketball 501 
			 Beach Volleyball 410 
			 Boxing 277 
			 Canoe Slalom 255 
			 Canoe Sprint 133 
			 Cycling-BMX 78 
			 Cycling-Mountain Bike 920 
			 Cycling-Road 92 
			 Cycling-Track 224 
			 Diving 350 
			 Equestrian-Dressage 49_ 
			 Equestrian-Eventing 70 
			 Equestrian-Jumping 49 
			 Fencing 141 
			 Football 749 
			 Gymnastic-Artistic 194 
			 Gymnastics-Rhythmic 37 
			 Gymnastics-Trampoline 24 
			 Handball 269 
			 Hockey 288 
			 Judo 151 
			 Modern Pentathlon 48 
			 Rowing 236 
			 Sailing 108 
			 Shooting 126 
			 Swimming 395 
			 Swimming-Marathon 72 
			 Synchronised Swimming 36 
			 Table Tennis 211 
			 Taekwondo 112 
			 Tennis 249 
			 Triathlon 72 
			 Volleyball 325 
			 Water Polo 193 
			 Weightlifting 219 
			 Wrestling-Freestyle 83 
			 Wrestling-Greco Roman 33 
			 Total 8815

Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe

Lord Bowness: To ask Her Majesty's Government what ministerial meetings, informal ministerial meetings and summit meetings of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe have taken place since May 2010; and, of those, which have been the subject of an oral or written statement or report to either House of Parliament.

Earl Howe: Since May 2010 there have been two Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) ministerial level meetings. These were the Informal Ministerial in Almaty on 16 and 17 July 2010, and the OSCE summit in Astana on 1 and 2 December 2010. A Written Ministerial Statement was tabled following the Informal Ministerial in Almaty (Official Report, 21 July 2010, cols. WS 74-75).

Overseas Aid

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty's Government which countries currently receive budget support from the Government.

Baroness Verma: The coalition Government recently reviewed the overall approach to providing budget support, with emphasis on reducing waste and inefficiency. The Secretary of State has announced that over the next four years, general budget support provided by the UK Government will decline by nearly half. We are implementing a shift towards targeted funding to important sectors (sector support), such as health and education.
	In 2010-11 financial year, the UK provided budget support to the following 10 countries. Ghana; Malawi; Mozambique; Pakistan; Rwanda; Sierra Leone; Tanzania; Uganda; Vietnam; and Zambia.

Pensions

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the average weekly earnings in (a) the public sector, and (b) the private sector; and what are the respective average percentages paid towards occupational retirement pensions in each sector.

Lord Taylor of Holbeach: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Stephen Penneck, Director General for ONS, to Lord Laird, dated July 2011.
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what are the average weekly earnings in (a) the public sector, and (b) the private sector; and what are the respective average percentages paid towards occupational retirement pensions in each sector. (HL10508)
	Average levels of earnings are estimated from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), and are provided for all employees on adult rates of pay whose pay for the survey period was not affected by absence. The ASHE, carried out in April each year, is the most comprehensive source of earnings information in the United Kingdom and is based on a one per cent sample of employee jobs taken from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) PAYE records. The ASHE also collects data on occupational pension schemes and pension contributions.
	In April 2010, the latest period for which figures are available, the median gross weekly earnings for all employees in the public sector was £446 and for the private sector the comparable estimate was £386. For those employees in the public sector that made pension contributions, the median contribution was 6.4 per cent and for the private sector the comparable estimate was 5.0 per cent. For employers in the public sector that made pension contributions for their employees, the median contribution was 14.9 per cent and for employers in the private sector the comparable estimate was 8.4 per cent.

Police Act 1997

Baroness Hamwee: To ask Her Majesty's Government why Section 112 of the Police Act 1997 (criminal conviction certificates) has not been commenced.

Baroness Browning: Section 112 of Part V of the Police Act 1997 provides for the introduction of a criminal conviction certificate at basic level.
	The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) has always planned to offer this service and it committed to research how this could be implemented in its 2009-10 business plan. A feasibility study was carried out but the planned implementation was placed on hold as part of the Government Spending Review in May 2010.
	In addition, a criminal conviction certificate at basic level is currently available to all UK citizens via Disclosure Scotland.
	In October 2010, we commissioned Mrs Sunita Mason, the Independent Advisor for Criminality Information Management to review the Criminal Records Regime.
	The first phase of Sunita Mason's report was published on 11 February and made 10 recommendations, including the introduction of basic certificates, which we are carefully considering. The CRB has undertaken a business case analysis to consider the introduction of criminal records certificate at basic level. This is being evaluated in connection with a formal response to Mrs Mason's recommendations.

Polygraph Tests

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have made any changes to the evaluation of mandatory polygraph pilots; and, if so, what.

Lord McNally: In accordance with the Offender Management Act 2007 (the 2007 Act), a pilot of mandatory polygraph testing of relevant sexual offenders under licensed supervision is taking place in Probation Trusts in the East and West Midlands Regions. The independent evaluation of this pilot has not changed in scope since the pilot began in April 2009.
	Testing was originally expected to run until March 2012 to allow sufficient numbers of offenders to be tested to support robust evaluation. A sufficient sample has been achieved ahead of schedule so we have brought forward delivery of the evaluation report from spring 2013 to summer 2012 by planning to end testing in October 2011.
	In accordance with provisions of the 2007 Act, a decision on whether testing of relevant sexual offenders on licence should be extended to every probation area in England and Wales will require an affirmative resolution from each House of Parliament. The evaluation report will be a key piece of evidence to inform the decision of each House.

Public Sector: Terms and Conditions

Lord Morris of Manchester: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Taylor of Holbeach on 8 June (WA 144), whether they will publish in print the information on the website referred to, for the benefit of entitled persons without access to the internet.

Lord Taylor of Warwick: I refer the noble Lord to the answer I gave on 20 June 2011 (Official Report, col. WA 259)

Questions for Written Answer

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government why they have not answered question HL9291, tabled on 17 May and due for answer by 1 June; and when they plan to answer it.

Baroness Browning: I refer the noble Lord to my answer given on 15 June 2011 (Official Report, col. WA 193)

Republic of Ireland: Financial Support

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government on what occasion and by what method they were most recently assured by the Government of the Republic of Ireland that they would not default on the loan supplied to them last year.

Lord Sassoon: As with the financial assistance provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Union and the euro area, the Government expect the UK's bilateral loan to Ireland to be repaid with interest. As part of its programme, Ireland must adopt strict policy conditionality aimed at restoring fiscal sustainability, ensuring financial stability and boosting growth.
	The IMF, European Commission and European Central Bank all monitor the programme every three months, to ensure that it remains on track and that Ireland is able to meet its repayment obligations.
	The latest IMF review, in May 2011, concluded that the Irish programme "is on track." The full report can be found here: http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2011/cr11109.pdf.

Roads: Advertisements

Lord Kennedy of Southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action are they taking to deal with the number of advertisements placed in fields near to motorways and other major trunk roads.

Baroness Hanham: Local planning authorities already have adequate powers to deal with unauthorised advertisements in fields visible from the road network under the Control of Advertisements Regulations. Guidance is in DCLG Circular 03/2007 (Annex paragraphs 147 and 148).
	The Highways Agency requires their managing agent contractors to report unauthorised advertisements visible from the Strategic Road Network to the relevant local authority so that they may consider appropriate enforcement where this is necessary.

South Wales Police

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Browning on 21 June (WA 292), what use they make of data collected on the use of mobile telephones while driving.

Baroness Browning: The data collected are used to inform the development, monitoring and evaluation of road traffic legislation and its enforcement.

Sport: FIFA

Baroness Miller of Hendon: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the recent allegations of corruption in FIFA.

Baroness Garden of Frognal: As the Minister for Sport and the Olympics said on 16 June 2011 (Official Report, col. 911):
	"It is clear, both from our experience of the last bid and from what has happened subsequently at FIFA, that the organisation is in need of radical structural reform, and the principles of transparency and accountability must govern that. The newly re-elected president has set a process in train, and we will watch it carefully".

State Recognition

Lord Laird: To ask Her Majesty's Government why their conditions for recognising a state vary from area to area.

Lord Howell of Guildford: For the criteria for the recognition of states, I refer the noble Lord to my reply of 23 November 2010 (Official Report, col. WA 296). These criteria are applicable in all parts of the world.

Uganda

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty's Government what conditions are attached to the budget support provided to the Government of Uganda by the United Kingdom; and whether a limit is set on such expenditure.

Baroness Verma: The United Kingdom's development partnership in Uganda is based on an assessment of the Ugandan Government's commitment to the following principles: respecting human rights and other international obligations; improving public financial management; promoting good governance, transparency and fighting corruption; strengthening domestic accountability and ensuring poverty is reduced in a sustainable manner. Where we judge the partner government shares these partnership commitments, the UK may provide budget support-if we consider this to be the best way to achieve results and value for money for the British tax payer and Ugandan people.

Uganda

Lord Ashcroft: To ask Her Majesty's Government what evidence they have received that the Government of Uganda purchased or ordered SU-3-MK2 fighter jets while receiving budget support from the United Kingdom Government.

Baroness Verma: Her Majesty's Government are aware that in 2010, under the previous Government, the Government of Uganda signed the contracts for the purchase of military equipment. Prior to the last election, in April 2010, the Uganda Joint Budget Support development partners (DPs) wrote to the then Minister of Finance expressing concern about reports in the Ugandan press that the Government had signed a contract for the purchase of six fighter jets. In February 2011, it was confirmed that Uganda had used money from its reserves to upgrade its air force in 2010, which was understood to be for the purchase of 6 Sukhoi 3000 jets.
	The Secretary of State has announced that over the next four years, general budget support is set to decline nearly half; our budget support to Uganda will be consistent with this approach.
	Decisions on UK budget support to Uganda in financial year 2011-12 have not yet been taken.

Uganda

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have received any concerns regarding the Deepening Democracy Programme, part-funded by the Department for International Development, which currently supports public sector financial management and government administration in Uganda; and, if so, what is their response.

Baroness Verma: The goal of the Deepening Democracy Programme is to contribute to improved democratic governance in Uganda by increasing informed, active, pluralistic participation of Ugandan citizens in the political process; building the capacity of Ugandan institutions critical to promoting public participation; and holding the state accountable to citizens' needs and concerns. In working towards these goals the programme works with a wide range of civil society organisations, state and non-state institutions, and government. An independent end of programme evaluation will take place in August and September 2011. This will provide an opportunity for all relevant stakeholders to share their views on the programme. To date, however, we are not aware of any concerns having been raised with regard to the programme itself and/or its goals.

UN Women

Baroness Kinnock of Holyhead: To ask Her Majesty's Government what efforts they are making to ensure that the United Nations Gender Entity will be well funded and able to be effective for women across Europe, in particular those affected by sex trafficking.

Baroness Verma: The UK strongly supports the establishment of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, known as UN Women, and played a key role in its creation. We have already provided transitional funding to the organisation. We are carefully considering UN Women's Strategic Plan, which was agreed by UN Women's board on 30 June 2011, and will make a decision on levels of core funding based on this. We continue to stress the need for a strong results focus for all of UN Women's work. This includes human trafficking.
	The Secretary of State for International Development most recently had detailed discussions on these and other issues with Michelle Bachelet, head of UN Women, when she visited the UK in May 2011.

Work Capability Assessments

Lord Bradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the qualifications of staff undertaking the work capability assessment for mental health conditions.

Lord Freud: All doctors working for Atos Healthcare must be registered with the General Medical Council; all nurses with the Nursing and Midwifery Council and all physiotherapists with the Health Professions Council.
	All Atos healthcare professionals must have a minimum of three years broad-based clinical post-registration experience.
	In individual cases, solely at the discretion of the DWP chief medical adviser, the requirement that healthcare professionals must have a minimum of three years post registration experience may be waived.
	There is no requirement for healthcare professionals to have postgraduate mental health qualifications in addition to their primary qualifications.
	However, in response to one of Professor Harrington's recommendations in his first review, Atos have introduced mental function champions into their assessment centres to spread best practice in the assessment of people with conditions that affect mental, cognitive and intellectual function. Mental function champions are required to have post qualification clinical experience in the field of mental health.